FinFET (fin field effect transistor) devices have become very popular in semiconductor device manufacturing because of the increased integration levels they provide. FinFET devices utilize arrays of parallel fins formed over the surface of a substrate to provide increased surface area relative to planar semiconductor devices. The fins are generally formed of semiconductor material such as silicon and extend longitudinally over the surface of the substrate. FinFET devices include field effect transistors or the like, which are formed on the fins. The added surface area provided by the fins is used as the channel and source/drain regions of the FinFET devices. Other active devices also utilize the additional area afforded by the fins. A greater number of FinFET devices than planar transistors can be produced on a given footprint area of a substrate. Further, for a given footprint area on a substrate, a FinFET transistor can be formed to include larger source/drain areas, larger channel areas and larger gate areas than a comparable planar transistor formed on the substrate surface, thereby increasing the device speed for FinFETs. The fins are generally formed parallel to one another over a substrate for ease of manufacturing and due to limitations of photolithography and etching processes.
In the manufacture of FinFET devices, the fins are generally initially formed throughout a substrate of a semiconductor structure. The substrate includes active areas where the FinFET devices will be utilized and inactive areas where they are not needed. The fins are subsequently removed from the inactive areas where they are not needed. The removal of the fins from some areas but not others is susceptible to patterning problems that are associated with inherent properties of light and with non-uniformities and irregularities in various masks used to remove the fins from the inactive areas.